SOUTHWARK LIBERAL DEMOCRATS CONFIDENT OF UNANIMOUS MAUDSLEY SUPPORT

12.00.00pm GMT Thu 11th Jan 2007

Southwark Council's Liberal Democrats are confident they will secure the unanimous support of all the borough's councillors for the Maudsley Emergency clinic which is being threatened with closure by the South London and Maudsley Trust. Southwark Council Assembly will debate a motion opposing the closure at its meeting on 24th January.

"The Maudsley Clinic provides a vital service and its closure will have a severe detrimental impact on local people," said Cllr David Noakes, Liberal Democrat Chair of Southwark Council's Health Scrutiny Committee, who is proposing the motion to Council Assembly.

"Closing the Maudsley clinic will put much more strain on the nearby Kings College Accident and Emergency Department and on local voluntary sector providers. We do not believe that the small extension to community services that SLaM is proposing will do nearly enough to compensate for the loss of this service."

"We applaud the cross-party campaign that has sprung up to campaign against the closure and welcome the support of all three of the borough's MPs. We very much hope that all the parties represented on Southwark Council will back my motion to support the Maudsley Clinic. We believe that a unanimous vote in favour will send a powerful message to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, who will take the final decision on the clinic's future in February."